Ulrum former municipality

Ulrum is a village with c. 2000 inhabitants in the municipality of De Marne
in Groningen province. Until 1990 it was the seat of Ulrum municipality,
which then merged with Eenrum, Leens, and Kloosterburen to form the new
municipality of Ulrum, renamed in 1992 to De Marne.
It was first mentioned in the 11th century as Uluringhem, the settlement
of the people of Ulurin or Ulrin. The village lies on two "wierden" (man-made
hills). On one wierde is the Romano-gothic church (end 12th century), on
the other the demolished castle of Asingaborg, since 1988 the site of a
park. Here Hendrik de Cock was vicar when he started the "Afscheiding"
(secession) movement in 1834, which became the foundation of the "Gereformeerde
Kerken" in the Netherlands. The "Kocksianen" were
enthusiastically persecuted (even some laws of Napoleon were used against
them), and some of them migrated to Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA), where
they founded Holland, Michigan.
For centuries Ulrum was the terminal of the "snik" (track-boat) from
Groningen city. Between 1873 and 1916 there was on the Hunsingokanaal the
"Ceres" straw-paper factory.

May I assume that the Groningsen "wierden" are the same as the
Frisian "terpen"?
The "terpen" were built from the 5th century A.D, till the 13th
century in order to prevent sea and river waters to flood farms and churches.
The height of the "terpen" varies between 2 and 6 meters, their area between
1 and 12 ha. The north of Friesland is called "Terpenland". A literal
translation of "terpen" would be "mound", wouldn't it?
Ivan Sache, 2 Jun 2003

You are right: "terpen" and "wierden" are synonyms. The "Groninger Ommelanden"
were part of Friesland in the Middle Ages (nowadays they still use the
Frisian flag on their flag and Coat of Arms) and the landscape is about the same
as the Frisian landscape - the farms are a bit bigger; in Friesland the
farmers are "boeren", in Grunningen they're called "hereboeren",
and their farmhouses are more stately. We don't really know how high the
terpen or wierden really were, as the top was often used as very fertile
soil, and "scientists" have demolished many buildings and mounds for their
"research" in the 19th century. The terp
in Hoogebeintum/Hegebeintum in Ferwerderadiel
is the highest known: 12,50 meters above sealevel. (its church is well
worth a visit). The largest in area was 18 ha. One of the most impressive
is in Ezinge (Groningen), with 17 ha. In Friesland many placenames contain
*wier* or *werd* as a reference to their terpen. In
the Betuwe (western Gelderland) terpen were called "woerden".
Jarig Bakker, 2 Jun 2003

Ulrum Coat of Arms

This coat of arms belonged to the Frisian family Aesinga, probably a
branch of the Asinga's which gave their name to the Asinga-borch (manor)
in Ulrum. However it is appropriate, as Zoutkamp is an important fidhing
port; moon and star might refer to the position near the sea, and Ulrum
being one of the northernmost municipalities in the Netherlands.